What Brent Brennan said after Arizona's 28-17 road loss to BYU
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The Arizona Wildcats desperately wanted to get the taste of last year's heartbreaking 2OT home loss to BYU out of their mouths on Saturday afternoon - and unfortunately were dealt another frustrating defeat instead.
Brent Brennan's team fell to 1-1 on the year after taking a 28-17 loss on the road, in a game the Wildcats led at halftime before failing to score in the second half.
Brennan discussed Arizona's second half struggles, gave an injury update on sophomore wideout Gio Richardson, and shared thoughts on the team's decision to go for it on fourth down:
On not executing down the stretch
"We just have to finish. That comes down to execution. That is red line for us, and we didn't finish in the fourth quarter on offense or defense. As frustrated as we are I was proud of how hard we played. I thought we played physical, I thought we ran the ball effectively against a really good defense.
On if he has an update on injured receiver Gio Richardson
"I don't. I think he was pretty hot, so the impact was significant."
On the overturned fourth down call in the fourth quarter
"That's football. They made a good play. They were right at the sticks, I think that's disappointing, but really in that moment what choice do you have right? The only choice you have is to get back to fighting because there's still plenty of time left in the football game. And in my opinion we did not execute at the level we need to."
On if he considered kicking a field goal instead of going for it on 4th down
"Time was short and I just have a lot of faith in Noah [Fifita] and he delivered a strike but like I said BYU made a great play, a great tackle in space and stopped us short of the sticks."
On what Arizona can take from this loss
"The biggest thing is that we went on the road. We played a top 15 team and we battled for four quarters. We played physical, we played tough, we didn't back down. And we're disappointed with the outcome. That part of it is not fun. But we have so much football left to play. What's important is what we do next with our next opportunity to improve and get better."
On having Ismaila Mahdi and Max Harris eligible
"Max and Izzy are two incredible human beings and they're also good football players. Part of it is just how much our team loves and cares about them, having them with us for one final ride is really exciting."
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